Cristiano Ronaldo did not score as Al Nassr lost 1-2 to Al Ittihad, losing the top of the Saudi Pro League

Saudi Arabia Cristiano Ronaldo did not score when Al Nassr lost 1-2 to Al Ittihad in round 5 of the Saudi Pro League, thereby receiving their first defeat and losing the top of the table to Al Hilal.

At King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on September 5, Al Nassr was inferior to Al Ittihad, especially in the first half. The away team also suffered a loss when Kingsley Coman had to leave the field in the 60th minute, apparently due to injury.

In the first half, Al Ittihad shot nine times and achieved an expected goals index (xG) of 1.04, compared to Al Nassr's three shots and xG of 0.53. The host also had eight touches of the ball in the opponent's penalty area, slightly better than Al Nassr's six.

Al Ittihad concretized the pressure with George Ilenikhena's double in just the first 22 minutes. The French-Nigerian striker opened the scoring in the fourth minute with an angled header, before doubling the gap with a connecting kick from Houssem Aouar's cross.

In the 36th minute, Al Nassr shortened the gap thanks to Ronaldo's flash of brilliance. The 41-year-old striker made a one-touch high pass for Joao Felix to escape, but the Portuguese striker could not beat goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic. The ball bounced out into the right range for Angelo Gabriel to score, rekindling hope for Al Nassr.

In the second half, Al Nassr pushed the team higher and created greater pressure. More opportunities came, including shots in the penalty area from Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, but neither could beat Rajkovic and the Al Ittihad defense.

The 1-2 defeat caused Al Nassr to break their winning streak and lose the top of the table to Al Hilal, who maintained their winning record with 15 points.

Besides Al Nassr's defeat, Ronaldo also became the focus of a humorous moment in the final minutes of the match.

While the match was going on, Al Ittihad coach Jens Wissing gave midfielder Danilo Pereira a piece of paper with tactical instructions. Danilo took the paper onto the field and Ronaldo was seen trying to look over his opponent's shoulder to see the content. When he discovered that Ronaldo was "stealing", Danilo laughed, then the two Portuguese players laughed happily.

While Ronaldo and Al Nassr stumbled, Ivan Toney continued his impressive start in the Al Ahli shirt. The English striker scored twice from the penalty spot, helping the home team win 5-0 against Al Riyadh.

Thanks to that, Toney monopolized the leading position in the Saudi Pro League scoring list with six goals in five matches. Behind him is Al Hilal's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic with four goals. Ruben Neves, Alexandre Lacazette and Angelo each have three goals, while Ronaldo has only scored two goals since the beginning of the season.

Ronaldo will have the opportunity to improve his performance when Al Nassr meets Abha in round six of Pro League on September 9.